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Lot Essay
The authenticty of this work has been kindly confirmed by the Archivio Alighiero Boetti, Rome.
Italian text:
nero su bianco e bianco su nero - tra orizzontale e verticale - cinque x cinque venticinque - scogliersi come neve al sole - lasciare il certo x l'incerto - tra l'incudine e il martello - verba volant scripta manent - millenovecentoottantotto - pack perdita d'identita tutta - mettere i verbi al infinito - sragionando in lungo e in largo - talvolta sole talvolta luna - seguire il filo del discorso - collo rotto braccia lunghe - quando le parole sono stanche
Translation of Italian text:
black on white and white on black - between horizontal and vertical - five x five twenty-five - to melt like snow in the sun - to leave certainty for uncertainty - between hammer and anvil - words fly, writing remains - thousand nine hundred eighty-eight - pack loss of total identity - to put the verbs into infinitive - to babble away about this and that - sometimes light, sometimes shadow - to follow the thread of conversation - broken legs, long arms - when the words are tired
Translation of Farsi text:
Alighiero e Boetti and his Afghan employees met in the beautiful city of Peshawar and called this evening the Memorial Evening. There was a full moon. The moonlight was as beautiful and enchanting as a beautiful bride with make-up.
Italian text:
nero su bianco e bianco su nero - tra orizzontale e verticale - cinque x cinque venticinque - scogliersi come neve al sole - lasciare il certo x l'incerto - tra l'incudine e il martello - verba volant scripta manent - millenovecentoottantotto - pack perdita d'identita tutta - mettere i verbi al infinito - sragionando in lungo e in largo - talvolta sole talvolta luna - seguire il filo del discorso - collo rotto braccia lunghe - quando le parole sono stanche
Translation of Italian text:
black on white and white on black - between horizontal and vertical - five x five twenty-five - to melt like snow in the sun - to leave certainty for uncertainty - between hammer and anvil - words fly, writing remains - thousand nine hundred eighty-eight - pack loss of total identity - to put the verbs into infinitive - to babble away about this and that - sometimes light, sometimes shadow - to follow the thread of conversation - broken legs, long arms - when the words are tired
Translation of Farsi text:
Alighiero e Boetti and his Afghan employees met in the beautiful city of Peshawar and called this evening the Memorial Evening. There was a full moon. The moonlight was as beautiful and enchanting as a beautiful bride with make-up.